Eriksson, Joel

Abstract [en]

Ecolor is a supplier for IKEA and have recently made a transformation from lacquered to foiled furniture production. Ecolor does not have a definition of the evaluations of visual quality. Because of this, and that the operators still have little experience of foiled products, may evaluations be made differently by different operators or at different stations. Ecolor and IKEA want to ensure the visual quality and by this; reduce defect products, customer complaints and, in the future, the cost of poor quality. This thesis will ensure the visual quality by identifying common imperfections and defining the evaluations and their structure. Field observations at Ecolor and a comparison of other Quality Handbooks, QHs, were initially done. Further work was made to define and understand visual quality, the needs and the concept of a QH. The customer and user view was identified as critical aspects to consider during the work. The development was divided into several parts; division of evaluation, evaluation routines, imperfections, levels and methods of evaluations, and layout. Methods for registration of rejected components were also considered. All parts were elaborated by identifying possible solutions, evaluating the solutions and defining and combining the chosen solutions. The thesis has resulted in a QH which consider 31 imperfections in foiled products. The imperfections are defined together with how the imperfections shall be evaluated. The components surfaces are divided by three classes, A, B and C, depending on their visibility during usage, and will, by these, be evaluated differently. The evaluation classifies the components to defect, remarked or accepted components. Remarked components are accepted, but repeated remarks require attention and adjustments of the process. The draft of the QH is ready, after a translation into Romanian, to be implemented in the production. All common imperfections have been considered and the focus on both the customer and the user has given the QH a weight. When implemented the QH will improve and simplify the evaluations, facilitate the communication of visual quality and give a consistent view of imperfections and visual quality. The QH may also be used as a template or an example for other furniture producers.